IEEE lobby campaign
IEEE lobby campaign
Date: Thursday, April 27, 2006 6:13 PM
JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER
April 27, 2006 No. 1467
The IEEE is asking for volunteers to travel to Washington DC for an expense
paid lobbying trip to oppose H-1B. That's the good news. I'll mention the
bad news next.
IEEE-USA is offering all American IEEE members a chance to
change the debate in Washington. On May 2 and 3, we will
be holding our third-annual Career Fly-In. This event will
give all American IEEE members a chance to meet their Members
of Congress and staff face-to-face to discuss H-1B visas and
other policies affecting the engineering profession.
They will even "prepare" you in advance. Translation: as soon as you get to
Washington DC they will send you to a brainwashing class where you will be
"prepared":
IEEE-USA will arrange your meetings for you and will fully
prepare you in advance.
Once the IEEE-USA has reduced you to a zombie, this is what you will tell
your Congressmen:
H-1B BAAAAAAAAAD!
GREEN CARDS GOOOOOOOOOOOD!
As I have explained before, IEEE wants to get rid of H-1B visas so that
every engineer in the entire world can come to the U.S. and get permanent
residency. IEEE is really bummed out that H-1Bs can only take your jobs for
3-6 years and then they have to return to their home country. They would
prefer that foreign engineers that come here take your jobs forever.
IEEE-USA would prefer to find a way to keep skilled foreign
workers in this country permanently, rather than force them
to leave with six years of experience and training.
MESSAGE TO ANY IEEE PEOPLE GOING TO DC:
You are under no legal obligation to beg Congress for more green cards, SO
JUST DON'T DO IT! Tell them you want all work based visas to be either
eliminated or drastically reduced.
All you have to do is to turn your brain off during the brainwashing
session so that you don't get programmed. The other alternative is to bring
along a reboot disk so you can re-install your common sense after the
brainwashing. In order to make that reboot disk continue reading.
I have discussed the Green Card issue vs. H-1B many times, and recently
discussed why IEEE-USA insists on instant Green Cards. All of you that are
attending the IEEE lobbying campaign need to print these newsletters out
and put them somewhere in your motel room where you can't miss them - like
in front of your TV or on your pillow. That way if the brainwashing takes
effect you can de-program your brain by reading them. For everyone else
that is confused about the difference between H-1B, green cards, and F-4
these are good reading.
<<<<<< Brainwashing Reboot Disk for IEEE lobbyists >>>>>
http://www.zazona.com/shameh1b/JobDestructionNews.htm
2006-04-13 IEEE-USA endorses Specter Bill
2006-04-12 Push for Green Cards and F-4 visas
IEEE-USA hastening the demise of the American engineer
http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/Archive/IEEEUSAHastensDemise.txt
Specter bill would be a sea change on H-1B and green cards
http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/Archive/SpecterBill.txt
<<< NOTE TO ANGRY IEEE MEMBERS >>>
This email was written partly in jest. Instead of flaming the messenger,
loosen up and laugh a little! Read all the material and then if you are
still angry, you have every right to flame me.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.ieeeusa.org/policy/flyin/career/
Third Annual IEEE-USA Career Fly-In
2-3 May 2006
Calling All IEEE Members! Click To Register Now
Current Situation | IEEE-USA Position | Fly-In Schedule | Contacts
D.C. Accommodations
What If I Cant Come
To Washington?
Meeting directly with legislators in Washington is the best way to
influence your elected officials. But it is also the most difficult. Not
all IEEE members will be able to join us on May 2nd. But there are still
ways for you to help technology engineers be heard. IEEE-USA encourages
engineers who are interested in these issues to visit our Legislative
Action Center to contact their Members of Congress. IEEE members can also
sign-up for periodic updates on legislation affecting them through
IEEE-USAs CARE Network.
2006 is shaping up to be a crucial year in the H-1B debate. Congress has
already begun a major review of immigration policy. Part of that review
will focus on H-1B visas.
IF YOU WANT TO TELL CONGRESS YOUR SIDE OF THE STORY, NOW IS THE TIME TO DO
IT!
IEEE-USA is offering all American IEEE members a chance to change the
debate in Washington. On May 2 and 3, we will be holding our third-annual
Career Fly-In. This event will give all American IEEE members a chance to
meet their Members of Congress and staff face-to-face to discuss H-1B visas
and other policies affecting the engineering profession.
IEEE-USA will arrange your meetings for you and will fully prepare you in
advance. All you need to do is come to Washington for the best possible
opportunity to influence Congress as it debates the future of your
profession.
Starting Tuesday afternoon (so you can fly in that morning) May 2, IEEE-USA
staff will brief all participants on current legislation, political trends
and how to discuss all of this with legislators. Then on Wednesday May 3,
participants will travel to Capitol Hill for private meetings in their
legislators offices.
Congress is already considering a serious plan to increase the H-1B visa
cap by 75% next year. [See Current Political Situation]. Many members of
Congress have concluded that the H-1B program is non-controversial.
Engineers who believe otherwise need to come to Washington on May 2 and 3
to prove them wrong!
No experience is necessary. All IEEE members in the United States are
welcome and encouraged to attend.
Politicians respond to numbers. We need as many voters in Washington as
possible, so as to send the loudest message possible.
Current Political Situation
In March 2006, Senator Arlen Specter (PA-R) drafted a bill that would,
among other things, increase the H-1B visa cap from 65,000 to 115,000 in
2007. The bill would also allow the cap to increase by 15% annually
following a year in which the cap is reached. There is no provision to have
the cap decrease.
Sen. Specter is the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has
jurisdiction over the H-1B program. This makes him the single most
important voice on H-1B issues in the Senate. Other prominent politicians,
including Sen. Diane Feinstein (CA-D) have publicly supported Sen.
Specters proposal, showing it has bi-partisan support. On March 29th,
the Judiciary Committee approved Specters bill on a 12 6 vote. It
now moves to the Senate floor. Efforts to pass the bill before Congress
Easter recess failed, so the bill will be brought back up for debate at the
end of April and early May exactly when you will be here for our
fly-in. If the bill passes the Senate, it still must be reconciled with the
House version, which has no H-1B provisions.
The House has shown greater skepticism towards the H-1B program than the
Senate has. A Senate plan to increase the H-1B cap was defeated by members
of the House last year. Better yet, on March 30th the House Judiciary
Committees Subcommittee on Immigration, Boarder Security and Claims held
a hearing on the H-1B cap. The committee designed a panel of witnesses that
favored opponents of raising the cap (including IEEE-USA) by a two-to-one
margin. IEEE-USA believes that the best place to stop the Senate bill will
be in the Conference Committee between the House and the Senate, which is
expected in mid-May, just after the fly-in.
Representative Bill Pascrell (NJ-D) has introduced an H-1B reform bill
(H.R. 4378) independent of the immigration debate outlined above. Drafted
with IEEE-USAs help, this bill would go a long way towards fixing the
H-1B program, protecting both American and foreign workers in the process.
Pascrells bill has some Democratic support, but none yet from
Republicans. Without bipartisan support, the bill is unlikely to go
anywhere.
Click To Register Now
Where IEEE-USA Stands
IEEE-USA has long been a leading opponent of the H-1B visa program. We
believe that the visas place both American and foreign workers at a
competitive disadvantage with respect to employers. Because the visas are
owned by employers, visa holders have no leverage to demand fair wages or
working conditions and are not able to change jobs. This allows many
companies to pay H-1B workers less than American workers for comparable
work, disadvantaging both. Also, several different government agencies have
found that the H-1B program has major flaws, leaving it vulnerable to fraud
and abuse. IEEE-USA would prefer that Congress reform the permanent
immigration system. Permanent residents can compete on a level playing
field with American workers, providing no incentive for companies to hire
one over the other.
H-1B visas are not immigration visas and H-1B workers generally do not
become citizens. Rather, the visas are short-term work permits that expire
in 6 years, after which most workers must leave the country. IEEE-USA would
prefer to find a way to keep skilled foreign workers in this country
permanently, rather than force them to leave with six years of experience
and training.
More information on H-1Bs can be found here.
More information on IEEE-USAs Career and Workforce Committee can be
found here.
Click To Register Now
Fly-In Agenda (tentative)
Tuesday, May 2
2:00 - 5:30 p.m. H-1B and Immigration Policy Briefing
6:00 p.m. Dinner (provided by IEEE-USA)
Wednesday, May 3
8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. All Day Capitol Hill Visits
IEEE-USA will not know your exact itinerary on Wednesday until your
meetings are scheduled. However, historically most of these meetings occur
in the morning and virtually all before 3:00 p.m. If travel requirements
demand that you leave D.C. before 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, please let
IEEE-USA know so that we can arrange your hill visit schedule to
accommodate your travel schedule.
Click To Register Now
Contacts:
Questions regarding fly-in logistics or Congressional meetings:
Russ Harrison
IEEE-USA
(202) 530-8326
r.t.harrison@ieee.org
Questions regarding Congress, legislation and the Career & Workforce Policy
Committee:
Vin ONeill
IEEE-USA
(202) 530-8327
v.oneill@ieee.org
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